Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and non-transitory computer readable medium

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes plural communication interfaces, a specifying unit, a network determining unit, and a transmission controller. The plural communication interfaces are individually connected to plural communication networks having different security levels. The specifying unit specifies a destination terminal to which a file stored in a data memory is to be transmitted. The network determining unit determines a communication network, among the plural communication networks, via which the file is to be transmitted to the destination terminal. The transmission controller prohibits transmission of the file to the destination terminal in a case where a security level set to the file is higher than a security level set to the communication network determined by the network determining unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/845,532,filed Sep. 4, 2015, which is based on and claims priority under 35 USC119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-058631 filed Mar. 20,2015.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, aninformation processing method, and a non-transitory computer readablemedium.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus including plural communicationinterfaces, a specifying unit, a network determining unit, and atransmission controller. The plural communication interfaces areindividually connected to plural communication networks having differentsecurity levels. The specifying unit specifies a destination terminal towhich a file stored in a data memory is to be transmitted. The networkdetermining unit determines a communication network, among the pluralcommunication networks, via which the file is to be transmitted to thedestination terminal. The transmission controller prohibits transmissionof the file to the destination terminal in a case where a security levelset to the file is higher than a security level set to the communicationnetwork determined by the network determining unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An Exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an imageforming system according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusaccording to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a table showing an example of information registered in anetwork information DB;

FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of information registered in aterminal information DB;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a datamemory;

FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of information on files registeredin a data information DB;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for selecting adestination terminal;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for selecting adestination terminal;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for selecting afile;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for selecting afile;

FIG. 11 is a correspondence table showing an example of relationshipsbetween security levels and whether transmission of a file is permittedor prohibited;

FIG. 12 is an operation flow diagram of the image forming apparatusaccording to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a correspondence table showing an example of relationshipsbetween security levels and whether transmission of a file is permittedor prohibited; and

FIG. 14 is a table showing an example of information on files registeredin the data information DB.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described belowwith reference to the drawings. An information processing apparatusaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be atypical computer or an image forming apparatus. Hereinafter, an imageforming apparatus will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an imageforming system (information processing system) 100 according to theexemplary embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the image forming system100 includes an image forming apparatus 10 and user terminals 20 a and20 b used by users. The image forming apparatus 10 and the user terminal20 a are connected to each other via a first communication network 30 a,and the image forming apparatus 10 and the user terminal 20 b areconnected to each other via a second communication network 30 b. Thenumber of user terminals is not limited. That is, the number of userterminals connected to the first communication network 30 a and thenumber of user terminals connected to the second communication network30 b may be one, or two or more. Here, the two user terminals 20 a and20 b that are respectively connected to the first communication network30 a and the second communication network 30 b are illustrated forconvenience. Hereinafter, the user terminals 20 a and 20 b will becollectively referred to as user terminals 20 when describing a commonfunction of the user terminals 20 a and 20 b, and the first and secondcommunication networks 30 a and 30 b will be collectively referred to ascommunication networks 30 when describing a common function of the firstand second communication networks 30 a and 30 b.

The first communication network 30 a and the second communicationnetwork 30 b are communication networks independent of each other andare not connected to each other. Here, it is assumed that the firstcommunication network 30 a is a communication network having arelatively high security level (secure communication network) and thatthe second communication network 30 b is a communication network havinga relatively low security level (insecure communication network). Anexample of a communication network having a high security level is anintranet, such as an in-house local area network (LAN), and an exampleof a communication network having a low security level is the Internet.The intranet is a network available to specific users in a local area(within a company or the like), and the Internet is a network availableto many unspecific users in the public. The types of communicationnetworks to which the image forming apparatus 10 is connectable are notlimited to those described above, and may be three or more types. Thatis, the image forming apparatus 10 is configured to be able to connectto plural communication networks having different security levels.

Each of the user terminals 20 is a terminal apparatus connected to oneof the communication networks 30 and used by a user. The user terminal20 performs data communication with the image forming apparatus 10 viathe communication network 30 in response to a user operation.Accordingly, for example, the user terminal 20 transmits a file ofdocument data or the like (for example, print job data) to the imageforming apparatus 10, transmits a print instruction to the image formingapparatus 10, or obtains (receives) image data read by the image formingapparatus 10 (for example, scan data) in response to a user operation.Software such as a browser and an email client is incorporated into theuser terminal 20. The user terminal 20 is, for example, an informationterminal apparatus such as a personal computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), or a smartphone. An apparatus connected to thecommunication network 30 is not limited to the user terminal 20 and maybe another image forming apparatus, a server, or the like.

The image forming apparatus 10 has functions of a typical multifunctionperipheral, such as a copy function, a scan function, and a facsimilefunction. The image forming apparatus 10 according to the exemplaryembodiment may be an apparatus having at least any one of thesefunctions. These functions are functions according to the related artand thus the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 also illustrates the hardware configuration of the image formingapparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a controller 101,a display 102, an input unit 103, a storage unit 104, a reading unit105, a data memory 106, an output unit 107, and a communication unit108. The image forming apparatus 10 may also include an operation unit,a power switch, and so forth. The controller 101 includes a centralprocessing unit (CPU). The controller 101 executes various arithmeticprocessing operations and controls the individual units of the imageforming apparatus 10 on the basis of a program stored in the storageunit 104. The details of the controller 101 will be described below.

The display 102 is constituted by a display device such as a liquidcrystal display, and displays, for example, a result of informationprocessing performed by the controller 101. The input unit 103 isconstituted by input devices such as a touch panel and a button key, andreceives input of an operation from a user. The input unit 103 may bedisplayed on the display 102 as an electronic input device. The inputunit 103 functions as a user interface (UI). The storage unit 104 isconstituted by an information recording medium such as read only memory(ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a hard disk, which stores aprogram executed by the controller 101. The storage unit 104 alsooperates as a working memory of the controller 101. Various types ofmemories are applicable to the storage unit 104. For example, a storagedevice such as a semiconductor memory may be used as the storage unit104. A program and various data that are stored in the storage unit 104in the exemplary embodiment may be obtained from an external apparatusvia the communication unit 108 or may be obtained from an externalstorage medium. The storage unit 104 may be provided outside the imageforming apparatus 10 and may be connected to the image forming apparatus10 via a network.

The reading unit 105 is constituted by a scanner or the like. Thereading unit 105 optically scans an object such as a paper medium, andthereby reads information on the object as image information (imagedata).

The data memory 106 stores, in the form of a file, document data orimage data input (transmitted) from the outside (the user terminal 20)to the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication network 30,electronic data of an image (image data) read by the reading unit 105,and so forth. That is, the data memory 106 stores print job data, scandata, and so forth in the form of a file. The data memory 106 isconstituted by an information recording medium such as a ROM, a RAM, ora hard disk, like the storage unit 104. The data memory 106 may beincluded in the storage unit 104 or may be provided outside the imageforming apparatus 10 and may be connected to the image forming apparatus10 via a network. For example, the data memory 106 may be constituted bya data server connected to a network via the communication unit 108.

The output unit 107 is constituted by a printing unit or the like forforming an image on a medium such as a sheet. For example, when a userperforms a print instruction operation, the output unit 107 prints(outputs) image data or the like on a paper medium in accordance withprocessing performed by the controller 101.

The communication unit 108 includes plural communication interfacescorresponding to plural communication networks and performs datacommunication with the plural user terminals 20. For example, thecommunication unit 108 includes a first communication interface 108 aand a second communication interface 108 b. The first communicationinterface 108 a is connected to the first communication network 30 a(for example, an intranet), and the second communication interface 108 bis connected to the second communication network 30 b (for example, theInternet). Each communication interface is constituted by, for example,a network interface card (NIC). FIG. 1 illustrates an example in whichthe communication unit 108 includes the two communication interfaces 108a and 108 b, but the number of communication interfaces included in thecommunication unit 108 corresponds to the number of communicationnetworks and may be three or more instead of two.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 10.As illustrated in FIG. 2, the controller 101 functionally includes adata obtaining unit 201, a network determining unit 202, a datainformation setting unit 203, an access receiving unit 204, a securitylevel determining unit 205, a display controller 206, and a transmissioncontroller 207. These functions are implemented when a program stored inthe storage unit 104 is executed by the controller 101.

The storage unit 104 includes a network information database (networkinformation DB) 401. Security levels that are set for individualcommunication networks are registered in the network information DB 401.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a security level “3” is set tothe first communication network 30 a having a high security level, and asecurity level “1” is set to the second communication network 30 bhaving a low security level. These security levels are registered in thenetwork information DB 401. The security level of a communicationnetwork is preset by, for example, a manager of the image formingapparatus 10. The storage unit 104 also includes a terminal informationdatabase (terminal information DB) 402. As illustrated in FIG. 4,information on the user terminals 20 connected to the image formingapparatus 10 via networks (terminal names, addresses, and so forth) areregistered in the terminal information DB 402.

The data obtaining unit 201 obtains data transmitted (input) from theuser terminal 20 to the image forming apparatus 10 via the communicationnetwork 30 (for example, print job data) and data of an image read bythe reading unit 105 (for example, scan data). Also, the data obtainingunit 201 stores the obtained data in the data memory 106 in the form ofa file.

The data memory 106 may include plural data memory areas (folders). FIG.5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of thedata memory 106. Each data memory area is configured to be able to storeplural files. Each data memory area may be associated with one or pluraluser terminals 20. Further, for example, a data memory area A may storedata received from the user terminal 20, and a data memory area B maystore data read by the reading unit 105.

When the data obtaining unit 201 receives data transmitted from the userterminal 20, the network determining unit 202 determines (specifies) thecommunication network via which the data has been transmitted. Forexample, the network determining unit 202 determines, on the basis ofidentifiers (interface identifiers) assigned to individual communicationinterfaces, which of the first communication network 30 a and the secondcommunication network 30 b has been used to input the data to the datamemory 106. The type of communication network may be determined by usingthe following method according to the related art.

For example, if the network determining unit 202 performs a connectiontest (for example, a connection test using Ping) to determine whether ornot a communication interface is able to connect to a specificdestination on the Internet and if the connection test succeeds, thenetwork determining unit 202 determines that the type of thecommunication network connected to the communication interface is theInternet. If the network determining unit 202 performs a connection testto determine whether or not a communication interface is able to connectto a specific destination on an intranet and if the connection testsucceeds, the network determining unit 202 determines that the type ofthe communication network connected to the communication interface is anintranet. The network determining unit 202 may determine the type of thecommunication network connected to a communication interface on thebasis of an IP address assigned to the communication interface. The IPaddress may be assigned by a DHCP server (not illustrated) connected viaa communication network (the Internet or an intranet).

The data information setting unit 203 registers various information onthe data obtained by the data obtaining unit 201 in a data informationDB 403.

For example, when the data obtaining unit 201 receives data from theuser terminal 20 via the communication network 30, the data informationsetting unit 203 registers the file name and security level of the data(a file), information on the user terminal 20 as a transmitter, andvarious information including the date and time of reception in the datainformation DB 403 in association with the data (the file) that isstored in the data memory 106. The security level of the file is set onthe basis of the security levels of communication networks registered inthe network information DB 401 (see FIG. 3). Specifically, the securitylevel of the file is set in accordance with the type of thecommunication network via which the data of the file has beentransmitted and with a determination result generated by the networkdetermining unit 202. For example, in a case where the data of the fileis input from the user terminal 20 a to the image forming apparatus 10via the first communication network 30 a having a high security level(here, an intranet), the data information setting unit 203 sets a highsecurity level “3” to the file. For example, in a case where the data ofthe file is input from the user terminal 20 b to the image formingapparatus 10 via the second communication network 30 b having a lowsecurity level (here, the Internet), the data information setting unit203 sets a low security level “1” to the file. FIG. 6 illustrates anexample of information on files (received data) registered in the datainformation DB 403.

The access receiving unit 204 receives, from the user terminal 20 or theinput unit 103 (UI) of the image forming apparatus 10, an access to afile stored in the data memory 106 or an access to terminal information(information on the user terminal 20) registered in the terminalinformation DB 402. Specifically, for example, when a user A accesses(for example, selects) a file (with a file name “P-A001”) stored in thedata memory 106 to transmit the file to a certain user terminal 20, theaccess receiving unit 204 receives the access. When the user A accessesterminal information registered in the image forming apparatus 10 (forexample, selects an address “ccc.server.net” of the user terminal“t0003”) to transmit a file stored in the data memory 106 to a certainuser terminal 20, the access receiving unit 204 receives the access. Theaccess receiving unit 204 functions as a specifying unit that specifiesa destination terminal to which a file stored in the data memory 106 isto be transmitted.

The security level determining unit 205 determines whether the securitylevel set to a file that is stored in the data memory 106 and is to betransmitted (see FIG. 6) is higher than the security level of thecommunication network that is to be used to transmit the file to thedestination terminal, that is, the user terminal 20 (see FIG. 3).Specifically, in a case where the security level set to the file is “L1”and the security level set to the communication network is “L2”, thesecurity level determining unit 205 determines whether or not L1>L2 issatisfied.

Here, the network determining unit 202 determines the type of thecommunication network to be used for transmission to the destinationterminal. For example, the network determining unit 202 determines thetype of the communication network on the basis of the information on thefile registered in the data information DB 403 (see FIG. 6). Theinformation on files illustrated in FIG. 6 may include identificationinformation on the communication networks via which data has been inputto the data memory 106.

The display controller 206 controls the content of an image displayed onthe user terminal 20 and the display 102 of the image forming apparatus10 on the basis of an access received by the access receiving unit 204and a determination result generated by the security level determiningunit 205. Hereinafter, an example of content that is displayed inaccordance with an access will be described.

For example, in a case where a user selects a file stored in the datamemory 106, the display controller 206 controls display so that the userterminal 20 connected to a communication network that satisfies “L1>L2”among the plural user terminals 20 is not selectable and that the userterminal 20 connected to a communication network that does not satisfy“L1>L2” is selectable. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates a screen forselecting a destination terminal in a case where the user terminals 20with terminal names “t0001” and “t0003” are connected to the firstcommunication network 30 a and the user terminal 20 with a terminal name“t0002” is connected to the second communication network 30 b and in acase where a user selects a file (with a file name “P-A001”) to which ahigh security level (L1=“3”) is set. In this case, the user terminal 20with the terminal name “t0002” is connected to the second communicationnetwork 30 b having a security level (L2=“1”) that is lower than thesecurity level “3” of the selected file (“P-A001”), that is, L1>L2issatisfied, and thus display is controlled so that the user terminal 20(“t0002”) is not selectable as a destination terminal. FIG. 8illustrates a screen for selecting a destination terminal in a casewhere a user selects a file (with a file name “P-B001”) to which a lowsecurity level (L1=“1”) is set. In this case, the user terminals 20 withthe terminal names “t0001”, “t0002”, and “t0003” are connected tocommunication networks having a security level (L2=“1”, “3”) that isequal to or higher than the security level “1” of the selected file(“P-B001”), and thus display is controlled so that these user terminals20 are selectable as a destination terminal. The display controller 206may display only the user terminals 20 that are selectable as adestination terminal.

For example, in a case where a user selects terminal information(information on the user terminal 20) registered in the terminalinformation DB 402 (see FIG. 4) when the user transmits a file, thedisplay controller 206 controls display so that a file that satisfies“L1>L2” is not selectable among plural files stored in the data memory106 (see FIG. 6) and that a file that does not satisfy “L1>L2” isselectable. FIG. 9 illustrates a screen for selecting a file in a casewhere the user terminals 20 with terminal names “t0001” and “t0003” areconnected to the first communication network 30 a and the user terminal20 with the terminal name “t0002” is connected to the secondcommunication network 30 b and in a case where a user first selects anaddress “bbb.server.net” of the user terminal 20 with the terminal name“t0002” as a destination terminal to which a file is to be transmitted.In this case, the user terminal 20 with the terminal name “t0002” isconnected to the second communication network 30 b having a low securitylevel (L2=“1”), and thus display is controlled so that the files“P-A001” and “P-A002” that satisfy “L1>L2” are not selectable. FIG. 10illustrates a screen for selecting a file in a case where a user firstselects an address “ccc.server.net” of the user terminal 20 with theterminal name “t0003” as a destination terminal to which a file is to betransmitted. In this case, the user terminal 20 with the terminal name“t0003” is connected to the first communication network 30 a having ahigh security level (L2=3), and thus display is controlled so that files“P-A001”, “P-B001”, and “P-A002” that do not satisfy “L1>L2” (thatsatisfy “L1≤L2”) are selectable. The display controller 206 may displayonly files that are selectable as files to be transmitted.

In a case where an unselectable destination terminal or file exists, thedisplay controller 206 may display a message (warning) indicating theexistence on the user terminal 20 or the display 102 of the imageforming apparatus 10. In a case where an unselectable destinationterminal or file exists, the display controller 206 may display amessage prompting the user to change the destination terminal or amessage prompting the user to change the target file to be transmittedon the user terminal 20 or the display 102 of the image formingapparatus 10.

The above-described processing performed by the display controller 206may be omitted. That is, the display controller 206 may cause the userterminal 20 or the display 102 to display information on all thedestination terminals and target files to be transmitted.

The transmission controller 207 executes or prohibits transmission of afile on the basis of a determination result generated by the securitylevel determining unit 205. That is, the security level determining unit205 performs the determination processing on the basis of the securitylevel of the file selected by a user as a target to be transmitted andthe security level of the communication network connected to thedestination terminal selected by the user, and the transmissioncontroller 207 executes or prohibits transmission of the file on thebasis of the determination result. Specifically, the transmissioncontroller 207 prohibits transmission of the file in a case where thesecurity level “L1” of the file to be transmitted is higher than thesecurity level “L2” of the communication network that is to be used fortransmitting the file (L1>L2), and executes transmission of the file ina case where “L1” is equal to or lower than “L2” (“L1≤L2”). FIG. 11 is acorrespondence table showing an example of relationships between “L1”and “L2” and whether transmission is permitted or prohibited. Asillustrated in FIG. 11, transmission of a file having a high securitylevel to an external apparatus via a communication network having a lowsecurity level is prohibited.

FIG. 12 is an operation flow diagram of the image forming apparatus 10.In the description given below, a description of the processingperformed by the display controller 206 is omitted.

First, the data obtaining unit 201 obtains data (a file) transmittedfrom the user terminal 20 to the image forming apparatus 10 (S101). Thedata obtaining unit 201 stores the obtained data in the data memory 106.Subsequently, the network determining unit 202 determines thecommunication network via which the data has been transmitted (S102).Here, the network determining unit 202 determines whether thecommunication network is the first communication network 30 a or thesecond communication network 30 b.

Subsequently, the data information setting unit 203 sets the securitylevel of the data on the basis of the determination result generated bythe network determining unit 202 (S103). For example, in a case wherethe data has been transmitted via the first communication network 30 a,the data information setting unit 203 sets a security level “3” to thefile of the data. For example, in a case where the data has beentransmitted via the second communication network 30 b,the datainformation setting unit 203 sets a security level “1” to the file ofthe data.

Subsequently, the access receiving unit 204 receives an access to a filestored in the data memory 106 (selection of a file) and an access to adestination terminal to which the file is to be transmitted (selectionof a destination terminal) (S104). Accordingly, the access receivingunit 204 specifies the target file to be transmitted and the destinationterminal to which the file is to be transmitted.

Subsequently, the network determining unit 202 determines whether thecommunication network that is to be used to transmit the file to thedestination terminal is the first communication network 30 a or thesecond communication network 30 b (S105).

Subsequently, the security level determining unit 205 determines whetherthe security level (L1) set to the target file that is stored in thedata memory 106 and is to be transmitted is higher than the securitylevel (L2 ) of the communication network determined by the networkdetermining unit 202 (S106).

In a case where the security level L1 of the file is higher than thesecurity level L2 of the communication network (L1>L2), the transmissioncontroller 207 prohibits transmission of the file (S107). On the otherhand, in a case where the security level L1 of the file is equal to orlower than the security level L2 of the communication network (L1≤L2),the transmission controller 207 executes transmission of the file(S108).

The image forming apparatus 10 controls transmission of a file stored inthe data memory 106 to the outside by performing the above-describedprocessing.

In the above-described configuration, the security level of a file isset by the data information setting unit 203 on the basis of thesecurity level of the communication network 30, but the configuration isnot limited thereto. For example, a user who creates and transmits afile may manually set the security level of the file. The security levelof the file may be set in accordance with a memory area in which thefile is stored. For example, in the data memory areas illustrated inFIG. 5, a security level “3” may be set to the files stored in the datamemory areas A and B, and a security level “1” may be set to the filesstored in the data memory areas C and D.

In the above-described configuration, the security levels of a file anda communication network are set in two stages (“3” and “1”), but theconfiguration is not limited thereto. For example, both the securitylevels may be set in three stages of high, middle, and low (“3”, “2”,and “1”). In this case, the communication networks connected to theimage forming apparatus 10 may be, for example, a communication networkestablishing an in-house LAN (security level “3”), a communicationnetwork establishing communication between sites or offices (securitylevel “2”), and a communication network establishing the Internet(security level “1”). In this case, the security level of a file is setin accordance with the security levels of the three communicationnetworks. FIG. 13 is a correspondence table showing an example ofrelationships between the security level “L1” of a file and the securitylevel “L2” of a communication network and whether transmission of a fileis permitted or prohibited in a case where both the security levels areset in three stages. As illustrated in FIG. 13, in a case where thesecurity level “L1” of the target file to be transmitted is higher thanthe security level “L2” of the communication network to be used totransmit the file (L1>L2), transmission of the file is prohibited. In acase where “L1” is equal to or lower than “L2” (L1≤L2), transmission ofthe file is executed.

In the above-described configuration, data (a file) stored in the datamemory 106 is transmitted (input) from an external apparatus (a userterminal) via any of the communication networks 30, but the data is notlimited thereto. For example, data (a file) stored in the data memory106 may be scan data of an image read by the reading unit 105(hereinafter referred to as data). Hereinafter, a description will begiven of a case where the data is scan data. For the same configurationas that described above, a description is omitted.

The data obtaining unit 201 obtains data of an image read by the readingunit 105 and stores the obtained data in the data memory 106 in the formof a file.

The data information setting unit 203 registers various information onthe data obtained by the data obtaining unit 201 in the data informationDB 403. For example, after the data obtaining unit 201 obtains the dataof the image read by the reading unit 105, the data information settingunit 203 registers information on the data (a file), such as a filename, security level, and date and time of obtainment, in the datainformation DB 403 in association with the data (the file) stored in thedata memory 106. The security level of a file is set on the basis of thesecurity level set to target sheet to be read (object). For example, thesecurity level of data obtained by reading an object is set on the basisof information that is applied to the object by using an electronicwatermark or the like. More specifically, for example, in a case wherethe object is a printout of an image of data input from the userterminal 20 a to the image forming apparatus 10 via the firstcommunication network 30 a, information of an electronic watermarkrepresenting a high security level (for example, “3”) is applied to theobject. In a case where the reading unit 105 reads the object havinginformation of the electronic watermark representing the high securitylevel, the data information setting unit 203 sets a high security level(“3”) to the read data. For example, in a case where the object is aprintout of an image of data input from the user terminal 20 b to theimage forming apparatus 10 via the second communication network 30 b,information of an electronic watermark representing a low security level(for example, “1”) is applied to the object. In a case where the readingunit 105 reads the object having information of the electronic watermarkrepresenting the low security level, the data information setting unit203 sets a low security level (“1”) to the read data. FIG. 14illustrates an example of information on files (scan data) registered inthe data information DB 403.

The security level of a file may be set on the basis of an analysisresult obtained by analyzing the content of an object (for example, akeyword in a document). For example, in a case where a predeterminedkeyword is included in a target document, the data information settingunit 203 sets a high security level (for example, “3”) to the read data.In the case of a file that is created by using a document creationapplication program, a keyword may be extracted by analyzing dataincluded in the file, or a keyword may be extracted by analyzing imagedata obtained by optically scanning a paper medium to read informationon the paper medium by using an optical character recognition (OCR)technique. Alternatively, the security level of a file may be manuallyset by a user in the input unit 103 (UI) when an object is read.

The configuration of controlling transmission of scan data stored in thedata memory 106 to the outside is the same as the above-describedconfiguration.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising:communication interfaces individually connected to communicationnetworks having different security levels; and a processor configuredto: prohibit transmitting a file to a destination terminal, in a casewhere one of the security levels, set to the file according to one ofthe communication networks via which the file is to be transmitted tothe destination terminal, is higher than another one of the securitylevels of another one of the communication networks.
 2. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to transmit the file to the destination terminal in acase where the one of the security levels set to the file is equal to orlower than another one of the security levels set to the another one ofthe communication networks as determined by the processor.
 3. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, prior tosetting the one of the security levels to the file, the another of thesecurity levels is set to the file in response to the file being inputfrom the another one of the communication networks.
 4. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor isfurther configured to implement: setting the one of the security levelsto a second file in response to the second file being received from theone of the communication networks; and setting the another one of thesecurity levels to a third file in response to the third file beingreceived from the another one of the communication networks, wherein theone of the communication networks has the one of the security levelswhich is higher than the another one of the security levels of theanother one of the communication networks.
 5. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to implement: a data memory that stores another file that hasbeen input from an external terminal via one of the communicationnetworks, wherein one of the security levels is set to the another filein accordance with one of the different security levels set to acorresponding one of the communication networks via which the anotherfile has been input to the data memory.
 6. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to implement: a reading unit that optically scans a papermedium to read information on the paper medium; and a data memory thatstores another file corresponding to the information read by the readingunit, wherein a security level, that is applied to the paper medium inadvance, of the different security levels is set to the file.
 7. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein theprocessor is further configured to implement: applying information of anelectronic watermark, corresponding to the security level, to the papermedium, and the security level of the another file is set in accordancewith the information of the electronic watermark that is obtainedthrough reading of the paper medium with the reading unit.
 8. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to implement: a reading unit thatoptically scans a paper medium to read information on the paper medium;and a data memory that stores another file corresponding to image dataread by the reading unit, wherein a security level of the differentsecurity levels is set to the another file in accordance with a keywordthat is extracted through document analysis on the image data.
 9. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to control a display controller tocontrol a display to display information on terminals connected to theinformation processing apparatus via networks, wherein, in a case wherethe one of the security levels set to the file is higher than theanother one of the security levels set to the another one of thecommunication networks, the display controller controls the display sothat the destination terminal is unselectable from a list of theinformation on the terminals.
 10. An information processing method foran information processing apparatus comprising communication interfacesthat are individually connected to communication networks havingdifferent security levels, the information processing method comprising:prohibiting transmission of a file to a destination terminal, in a casewhere one of the security levels, set to the file according to one ofthe communication networks via which the file is to be transmitted tothe destination terminal, is higher than another one of the securitylevels of another one of the communication networks.
 11. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing acomputer to execute a process, the computer including a plurality ofcommunication interfaces that are individually connected tocommunication networks having different security levels, the processcomprising: prohibiting transmission of a file to a destinationterminal, in a case where one of the security levels, set to the fileaccording to of one of the communication networks via which the file isto be transmitted to the destination terminal, is higher than anotherone of the security levels of another one of the communication networks.